Archive for Sep 28, 2011

The world of NFC for payments using a mobile phone is growing rapidly with Google Wallet going official and already in use in some stores. Another competing offering that is in the NFC fight against Google is Isis. Isis is a NFC joint venture between some of the largest companies in the mobile sector including AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA, and Verizon Wireless. Isis previously vowed to rival Google Wallet and to support Android devices as well.

Sony is pulling a douche bag move that fans of 3D films at the theater will not like one bit. The company has sent letters out to theaters that show its 3D films to tell them that it will no longer pay for the 3D glasses that are required for viewers to see the films it produces as of May 1, 2012. That means next summer when the blockbusters are out in 3D like Men in Black III and The Amazing Spider-Man the cost of your 3D ticket will go up if Sony doesn't change its mind.

Scuttlebutt going around the web says that Apple might be planning to kill off a couple of the iPods in its lineup that have been around for a long time. According to TUAW the two iPods that its source says are getting the axe are the iPod classic and the iPod shuffle. Apparently on the last earnings call Apple dropped a mention that there would be a product transition. What products would be in transition weren't specified on the call. I think many of us though the talk was of the new iPhone 5.

Wacom's new Bamboo tablet range allows you to cut the cord between your artwork and your computer, but the company's Inkling digital pen allows you to walk out the door and sketch anywhere. Announced last month, the chunky stylus - and its companion clip-on receiver - can turn any regular notepad into a digital art studio, not only wirelessly memorizing your drawings but throwing in pro-level features like layer support too. We grabbed some hands-on playtime with with Wacom Inkling to see if it's really a doodler's dream; check out our first-impressions after the cut.

With Mango finally rolling out as an update to some handsets like the HTC Trophy Microsoft is finally coming clean with some more details on the Mango update and new features. The WiFi data sharing feature is one that we knew was coming , but were light on details on what the feature would entail. As it turns out there are some restrictions to the feature that will mean some folks can’t take advantage of the sharing capability inside the phone.

The 90's ruined me, I find it hard to think about TP today without thinking about The Great Cornholio. I bet had our pal Beavis not been a raving idiot, he would have used this TP printer that writes tweets or content from a RSS feed directly onto your favorite paper. Apparently this printer contraption was invented by a German dude named Mario Lukas to enter some sort of tech competition.

Wacom's tablet heritage is well known to anybody who has gotten serious about computer artwork, and with a range of Bamboo models freshly announced we caught up with the company to see what was new. Targeted at the entry-level and mid-tier markets, with prices kicking off from $79.95, the Bamboo Connect, Bamboo Capture and Bamboo Create (aka the Touch & Pen range in Europe) attempt a double-whammy of not only courting artists but replacing your mouse, too.

Confusion around MeeGo continues, with the news that the open-source platform is to transition into Tizen, a new, similarly open-source OS targeting smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks and ICE systems. Hosted by The Linux Foundation and with development powered by Intel, Samsung and the MeeGo team itself - which promises that MeeGo users and developers should have a relatively easy time of it, shifting across to Tizen - the new platform is expected to be released in Q1 2012 in both OS and SDK form.

OnStar has bowed to public and governmental pressure, and reversed its controversial decision to track ex-subscribers using its in-car GPS navigation and support system. Having announced - via a change in its terms & conditions - that from December it would be tracking the location of those with OnStar systems installed, even if the individuals were non-subscribers, OnStar has now backtracked and said it would now make any data collection opt-in rather than opt-out.

Toshiba has revealed its latest Android Honeycomb tablet, the Toshiba Thrive 7", as as the name suggests it's a 7-inch version of the existing 10-inch Thrive. Running at 1280 x 800 resolution and using what Toshiba calls AutoBrite, Adaptive Display and Resolution+ technology for better graphics and outdoor visibility, the Thrive 7" runs Android 3.2 on NVIDIA's Tegra 2 paired with twin cameras and either 16GB or 32GB of storage.

This week we've been invited by HP to participate in their very first Making of Elite Tour. This tour is one where we get to see many moments in the process between HP creating a device in their Elite line and getting it ready for store shelves. That said, it was pretty obvious right off the bat what the first question on everybody's mind would be given the recent news HP had for the world regarding the very sector of HP that we were about to dive into. Public Relations head Mike Hockey knew the situation and gave us a once-over before the questions were even asked.

It appears that the Samsung device by the name of Nexus Prime has seen its way to Bluetooth certification, this being one of the last steps, FCC certification as well as an actual official word from the manufacturer being next, before an actual release of the device to the public. This Bluetooth certification is but one of many puzzle pieces we've all been putting together on the puzzle that is the hero phone for Android's next big version, Ice Cream Sandwich. One way or another there's going to be a phone here, ladies or gentlemen, and we've gotta find it!